Tagged: Academy Awards

And the MTV Movie Award for Comic Books Goes To…

And the MTV Movie Award for Comic Books Goes To…

The annual MTV Movie Awards are pretty much the exact opposite of the Academy Awards. They’re funny and irreverant, the music’s decent and the voters are the public instead of an exclusive club of insiders. The categories change from year to year, and most importantly, comic book films actually manage to win on occasion.

So, when MTV announced the nominees for this year, I scanned the list for our four-color friends and called them out here. Some of the entries, though, were a bit surprising. After reading the nominees, be sure to go to the official site and cast your vote.

BEST FIGHT:

Alien vs Predator (Alien vs Predator: Requiem). Comic fans can claim this one since the two characters first crossed over in comics. I was impressed with Predator’s stirring emotional performance but it felt like Alien was playing it for the Academy.

Tobey Maguire vs James Franco (Spider-Man 3).  I was so rooting for the Peter Parker vs. Mary Jane dance-off getting nominated, but Parker’s fight with Harry Osborn/New Goblin was pretty cool, too.

BEST SUMMER MOVIE SO FAR:

Iron Man. This is an interesting category since most of the entries haven’t come out yet. But if we’re going to be true to the "so far" part, then yes, Iron Man wins. It’s a no-brainer at this point, really.

BEST VILLAIN:

Topher Grace (Spider-Man 3). This just makes me sad that the movie didn’t feature Spider-Man nemesis Venom a bit more instead of forcing him to share the spotlight with Sandman, a bad guy whose big exit involved crying and floating away.

On This Day: Joe Barbera

On This Day: Joe Barbera

  • News
  • March 24, 2008

Joseph Roland “Joe” Barbera was born on March 24, 1911 in the Little Italy section of New York City. Though he loved drawing from an early age, Barbera put art aside for a more traditional job as a banker.

When the Great Depression hit, his banking job disappeared, however, and Barbera turned back to his first love. In 1932 he joined the Van Beuren Studio as an animator and scriptwriter. When Van Beuren closed down four years later Barbera moved to MGM. In 1938 he first teamed with William Hanna, and their second joint project, the first Tom & Jerry cartoon, Puss Gets the Boot, was nominated for an Academy Award.

Hanna and Barbera continued to work together, receiving seven Academy Awards over 17 years for Tom & Jerry. In 1955 they took charge of MGM’s animation division—when it closed two years later they founded their own company, H-B Enterprises, which they soon renamed Hanna-Barbera Productions.

Together they produced the Flintstones, the Jetsons, Scooby-Doo, and many other great American cartoons. Barbera died on December 18, 2006 of natural causes. He was 95 years old.

 

‘Ratatouille’ Over ‘Persepolis’ For Oscar Win

‘Ratatouille’ Over ‘Persepolis’ For Oscar Win

  • News
  • February 25, 2008

Disney’s Ratatouille won out over Marjane Satrapi’s critically praised graphic novel adaptation Persepolis in the "Animated Feature Film" category during tonight’s Academy Awards.

Oscar.com has posted an image from the pre-show survey filled out by Satrapi’s co-creator on the Persepolis film, cartoonist Vincent Paronnaud, who apparently wanted to become a clown and a priest when he was young, and finally decided that cartooning was a "good compromise between the two."

 

On This Day: Academy Awards Announced

On This Day: Academy Awards Announced

  • News
  • February 18, 2008

In the spirit of the impending most-watched award show in history, we remember that today in 1929, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) announced its very first Award winners. The Academy itself was founded two years previously and the ceremony itself took place in May of that year. Can you imagine knowing the Oscar wins before the event itself? What the hell would be the point? I mean aside from seeing all the fabulous dresses and hoping that somebody famous trips and falls bigtime? How were you supposed to bet and gamble on your faves if they already announced the winners? Glad they changed that policy, sheesh. C’mon, Ellen Page, c’mon Juno, Mama wants a new pair of shoes…

Deal Reached In Writer’s Strike

Deal Reached In Writer’s Strike

  • News
  • February 9, 2008

According to a Reuters dispatch, the Writer’s Guild of America has reached a tentative deal with the studios after a three-month walk-out that brought most domestic television and movie production to a halt.

The deal isn’t perfect, union reps stated, but it’s strong enough for them to recommend to their membership. Meetings will be held later today on both coasts to explain the terms and to vote on ratification.

The heart of the dispute involved the writer’s share of online revenues, which for which they previously did not receive penny one, and their diminutive payments for DVD sales. Whereas prognosticators haven’t had a great track record lately, it is expected this deal will be approved.

This means the Justice League movie might get rescued – maybe – and the Academy Awards will go on as scheduled later this month. And that means the world will not end after all.

 

 

 

Heath Ledger Found Dead – Updated

Heath Ledger Found Dead – Updated

  • News
  • January 22, 2008

MSNBC and TMZ.com are reporting that actor Heath Ledger was found dead in a Manhattan apartment today. Prescription pills were found at the scene of his death.

Ledger, who was scheduled to appear in this summer’s Batman Begins sequel, The Dark Knight, was also nominated for an Academy Award for his performance in Brokeback Mountain.

He had a two-year old daughter with actress Michelle Williams, with whom he co-starred in Brokeback Mountain.

UPDATE: Police are now stating that the actor’s death appears to be a suicide. While media sources originally reported that the apartment in which Ledger was found belonged to actress Mary-Kate Olsen, a spokesperson for Olsen has now denied this report.

‘Persepolis’ Snubbed, No Academy Award Nomination

‘Persepolis’ Snubbed, No Academy Award Nomination

  • News
  • January 16, 2008

The finalists for "Best Foreign-Language Film" were announced by the Academy yesterday, with nine films making the cut for a potential Oscar. Conspicuously absent from the list, however, is the film adaptation of Marjane Satrapi’s graphic novel Persepolis. The animated film was the official submission of France to the category, and has been widely hailed by critics.

From the Los Angeles Times:

"Missing, too, is critically hailed "Persepolis," which won a jury prize at Cannes and was voted best animated film by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and New York Film Critics Circle."

Roger Avary arrested for manslaughter and DUI

Roger Avary arrested for manslaughter and DUI

  • News
  • January 14, 2008

This just in from AP:

Oscar-winning screenwriter Roger Avary has been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter and driving under the influence after a Ventura County car crash that killed a man and injured Avary’s wife, authorities said.

Avary, 42, was the driver in the single-car collision shortly after midnight Sunday in Ojai, said Capt. Ross Bonfiglio of the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department.

Killed in the accident was Andreas Zini, 34, a resident of Italy who was apparently visiting the couple. Firefighters cut Zini from the car with Jaws of Life, and he died several hours later at Ventura County Medical Center.

Avary’s wife Gretchen, 40, was ejected from the car and found in the road by deputies, Bonfiglio said. She was hospitalized in stable condition.

Avary was booked but later released on $50,000 bail, Bonfiglio said. He did not know whether Avary has hired an attorney.

Avary won an Academy Award along with Quentin Tarantino for writing "Pulp Fiction," and was also a co-writer of the recent epic "Beowulf." He and his wife live in Ojai, a popular artists’ colony and tourist destination 14 miles north of Ventura.

We’ll post more as we hear about it.

UPDATE: Neil Gaiman writes:

I just read the news about Roger Avary, and am mostly posting this because people have already started writing to let me know about it, and to stop that turning into a flood. (I still can’t access Blogger except via a sort of email work-around right now.)

 

According to the news reports (and I have no other information), Roger crashed his car yesterday. His wife Gretchen was thrown out of the car and is in hospital with serious injuries, and the passenger, an Italian friend of Roger’s called Andreas Zini, was killed. Roger has been arrested for suspicion of manslaughter and DUI, and released on bail.

 

And I’m worried about all of them. Worried about Gretchen and their kids, worried about the family of their poor friend, and worried about Roger (who, it’s probably worth mentioning, I’ve known well for over a decade, and who barely drinks).

Happy birthday, Jim Henson!

Happy birthday, Jim Henson!

  • News
  • September 24, 2007

Seventy-one years ago today, James Maury Henson was born in Greenville, Mississippi. Over his fifty-three years, Jim Henson left a legacy that touched almost every child in two generations through his creations, from Kermit to Yoda to the Fraggles to Bear and the Big Blue House.

The sheer amount of output from Henson is staggering, winning multiple Emmys, BAFTA awards, a Peabody Award or two, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for both him and Kermit the Frog. Heck, if you’re like most people, all you have to do is think of his voice saying "Mahna Mahna" and you’ll instantly respond "Doo Doooo, Di Doo Doo". (And now that tune is going to be stuck in your head for the rest of the day. Sorry. But at least you’ll be smiling.)

He was even nominated for an Academy Award for something that had nothing to do with puppetry, a short film that he wrote, directed, and starred in called Time Piece, released four years before Sesame Street hit the airwaves.

We invite you to take a look at it here, odds are you’ve never seen this side of Jim Henson before.

Logan’s Run Gets Silver Star

Logan’s Run Gets Silver Star

  • News
  • April 5, 2007

Joel Silver, who makes movies where things blow up real good, says he’s planning to remake the 1976 science fiction classic, Logan’s Run. 

"I love the original material but I think that version is a bit silly," he told reporters in Barcelona where he was promoting his latest film The Reaping starring Academy Award-winner Hilary Swank.

The original starred Michael York, Peter Ustinov, Farrah Fawcette and Roscoe Lee Browne.  Directed by Michael Anderson, it won an Oscar for its visual effects.

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